Device for oiling windmills



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. R. WRIGHT.

DEVICE FOR OILING WINDMILLS. No. 446,401. Patented Feb. 10,1891.

WITNESSES IWVEWTOR lMQM (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

W. R! WRIGHT. DEVICE FOR OILING WINDMILLS,

N0.'446,401. Patented Feb. 10,1891.

flitorney.

' "ra'rns aren't much.

W'ILLIAM R. WRIGHT, OF LA GRANGE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROSOOE B.\VHEELER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

DEVICE FOR OILING WINDMILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,491, dated February10, 1891. Application filed October 30, 1889. Serial F0. 328,728. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. WnIeHr, a citizen of the United States,residing at La Grange, in the county of Cass and State of Michigan,haveinvented certain new and usef ul Improvements in Devices forOilingWindmills; and I do declare the following to he a full, clear, andexact description of the in vention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an automatic device for oiling windmills; andit consists of an oil-containing vessel or tank supported above theoperating mechanism of the mill and provided with pipes or tubingconnecting its various oil-discharge ports with the journal-bearings ofthe mill, and a further arrangement of parts whereby by the swinging ofthe vane 0f the mill a lever is operated that raises a valve in theoil-containing vessel and discharges the oil into the pipes or tubingthat convey the oil to the several-bearings of the mill, all of whichwill be hereinafter more fully set forth, and the essential features ofthe device pointed out particularly in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary windmill,showing myimproved oiler mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is aplan view of Fig. 1, a partof the wheel being broken away, showing the vane swung around at rightangles to the driveshaft in position to operate the lever that discharges the oil from the vessel to supply the various bearings of themill. Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical section through theoil-containing vessel or tank. Fig. 4- is a side elevation of same. Fig.5 is a horizontal section on dotted line a roof Fig. i. Fig. 6 is aninverted plan of the conical base or platform of the vessel.

'As indicated in the drawings, B represents the frame-work of awindmill-tower, and E the top platform thereof. W represents the wheelof the mill, S the drive-shaft, G the crankrod, and F the vane, all ofsaid parts being such as are in common use.

A represents the oil-supply vessel, which is supported above themechanism of the mill in the annular ring .2 mounted on the uprightbrackets z a, that are secured to the turn-table of the mill and revolvetherewith, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Said vessel is provided near itslower end with the bottom D, having the discharge-port c, as shown inFigs. 3 and 5. Located below the bottom D is a conical platform 0, theapex c of which being directly under the discharge-port e in the bottomD of the vessel. (See Fig. 3.) At the base of the cone 0 is a series ofholes a, provided with a short tube a, leading downward therefrom, asshown in Figs. 3 and 6. a a" and t are pipes leading from the lower endof the tubes at to the oil-holes in the journalbearings of the mill.(See Fig. 1.) The pipes a are lead pipes to allow bending so as tocouple the parts.

f is a valve-stem passing vertically through the top of the vessel A,and is provided at its lower end with the valve n, said valve beingadapted to close the discharge-port e in the bottom of the vessel.

(Z and (1 are braces that cross the diameter of the vessel at rightangles to each other, and are secured at their ends to the inner facethereof. (See Figs. 3 and 5.) The lower end of the valve-stem f passesthrough the braces (Z d and is supported therein. To the under face ofthe brace d is secured the annular case it, confining the coiled spring.9. Said spring environs the valve-stem and is compressed between thevalve e and the under face of the brace (l, the action of the springbeing to hold the valve tightly over the discharge-port e in the bottomD of the vessel, and when the valve has been raised to return it to theclosed position, as shown in Fig. 3. The actuating-lever tis fulcrnmedin the bracket Z), secured to the top of the vessel, and is coupled tothe upper end of the valve-stem, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4:.

Secured to the arm T of the vane F is the angle-arm 76, which, by theswinging of the vane, is adapted to engage with and operate the lever tof the vessel A. The rope or wire r is secured to the vane, and passesover the pulley it down through the sleeve 11, and its lower endterminates at some point within the reach of the operator. By a downwardpull on said rope the vane will swing around to the position shown inFig. 2, the arm of the vane resting against the rubberbufferc", locatedin the lug c of the rim of the turntable of the mill, whereby theangle-arm 7; is held from continually bearing against theactuating-lever 25 of the oil-supply vessel, in which position the millis out of gear, the wheel standing with its edge to the wind. The meansfor swinging the vane is in common use.

The operation of the device is as follows: The mill being in theposition as shown in Fig. 2, and it is desired to oil its several bearings before starting it, a quick downward pull is exerted on the rope 1',whereby the rubber c is compressed and the vane swung to the positionshown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, which carries the arm 7; against thelever t, forcing said lever down, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3,thus actuating the valvestem and raising the valve 1;, when the oil willflow through the discharge-port eof the bottom D, and, dropping directlyon the apex c of the cone 0, said oil is divided thereon and flows downthe inclined face of the cone in equal quantities in all directions. Onreaching the holes in the base of the cone the oil flows into the tubesa therein, and is conveyed through the pipes a a and i to the variousbearings of the mill. lVhen the rope is relaxed, the rubber buffer willswing the vane slightly out, carrying the arm 7s away from the lever t,releasing the pressure thereon, when the spring 8 will force the valvedown and close the discharge-port c in the bottom D, thus stopping theflow of oil.

By the employment of the conical base or platform 0 it will be seen thata number of bearings may be oiled simultaneously from one generalsupply, and that by increasing or decreasing the size of the hole in thebase of the cone from which a certain journal receives its supply of oilsaid journal maybe oiled according to its need. It will also be apparentthat a separate rope may be employed to opcrate the lever 1 which willpass up through the mill-tower and attach directly to said lever. Bythis arrangement the mill may be oiled without operating the vane forthat purpose, as before described, thus keeping the mill in continuousoperation, if desired.

In Fig. 1 the pipe t', that conveys the oil to :the head 7t of thecrank-rod G, is flexible to allow of therotary motion of said head. Anysuitable material may be employed for this pipe but rawhide ispreferred, as it is cheap and very flexible and is preserved by the oilit absorbs, which prevents it from rotting and renders it veryserviceable.

The brackets t on the sides of the supply-vessel A serve as stops thatengage with the ring .2 of the brackets and support said vessel at theproper height thereon, as shown in Fig. l.

It is designed that the supply-vessel shall contain sufficient oil tofreely oil the mill for six months without refilling, and where thedevice used in acold climate a composition of oil will be used for thewinter months that will not freeze and that will flow freely even invery cold weather. By the employment of my device the oil maybe suppliedto the bearings of the mill by the operator standing upon the ground,and the tower need not be mounted but twice a year, and only then torefill the supply vessel or tank.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the turn-table and vane of a Windmill, anoil-supply vessel mounted on the turn-table, a discharge-port in saidvessel, a valve to close said port, a stem leading from said valve, anoperating lever coupled to said stem, a supply-pipe leading from thedischarge-port of the tank, and an arm mounted on the vane of the mill,whereby the swinging of the vane will actuate the valve of thesupply-tank, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In combination with the turn-table and vane of a windmill, anoil-supply tank mounted on said turn-table and adapted to turntherewith, a discharge-portin said tank, a series of tubes communicatingwith the dis-' charge of the supply-tank, a valve to close the dischargeof the tank, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, to operate thevalve by the action of the vane.

3. In combination with the turn-table and drive-shaft of a windmill, anoil-supply tank attached to the turn-table and adapted to turntherewith, a discharge-port in the bot tom of said tank, a flexible pipecommunicating with the discharge of the tank and adapted to be coupledto the crank-coupling of the drive-shaft, a valve to close the dischargeof the supply-tank, and mechanism to operate the valve leading therefromto'a point below the turn-table of the mill, substantially as specified.

i. In combination with the turn-table of a windmill and the vanethereof, an oil-supply tank attached to the turnetable thereof, adischarge-port in the tank, an inclined platform located below thedischarge-port to receive the oil, a series of tubes leading from saidincline, a valve to close the dischargeport of the tank, a stem attachedto the valve and passing out of the tank, a spring to close the valve, alever coupled to the stem, the opposite end of said lever adapted toengage with the vane of the mill, as and for the purposes set forth. 7

5. An oiling device consisting of a supplytank having in the center ofits bottom a discharge-port, a conical platform located below thedischarge-port, its apex being located vertically below the discharge ofthe tank,

there being a series of openings in the base of the conical platform,tubes leading from said openings, a valve over the dischargeport, avalve-rod, and an operating-lever coupled to the valve-rod,substantially as port, said platform having a series of openings throughits lower plane, and a series of tubes communicating with said openings,as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM R. WRIGHT. Witnesses:

E. S. WHEELER, R. B. WHEELER.

